Staff research

• Digitalization: Prices of Goods and Services

  Staff discussion paper 2023-27 Vivian Chu, Tatjana Dahlhaus, Christopher Hajzler

  This paper outlines and assesses the various channels through which digitalization can affect prices of goods and services.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): D, D2, E, E3, E31, E5, E52, L, L1, L11 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity

• Machine learning for economics research: when, what and how

  Staff analytical note 2023-16 Ajit Desai

  This article reviews selected papers that use machine learning for economics research and policy analysis. Our review highlights when machine learning is used in economics, the commonly preferred models and how those models are used.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): A, A1, A10, B, B2, B23, C, C4, C45, C5, C55 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity

• The Heterogeneous Impacts of Job Displacement: Evidence from Canadian Job Separation Records

  Staff working paper 2023-55 Serdar Birinci, Youngmin Park, Kurt See

  When estimating earnings losses upon job separations, existing strategies focus on separations in mass layoffs to distinguish involuntary separations from voluntary separations. We revisit the measurement of the sources and consequences of involuntary job separations using Canadian job separation records.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E3, E32, J, J3, J31, J6, J63, J65 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• Borrow Now, Pay Even Later: A Quantitative Analysis of Student Debt Payment Plans

  Staff working paper 2023-54 Michael Boutros, Nuno Clara, Francisco Gomes

  We investigate alternative student debt contracts that defer payments and ease the burden of student loans on US households by preserving disposable income early in borrowers’ lives. Our model shows substantial welfare gains from these contracts relative to existing plans and gains similar to the Biden administration's proposals but with a significantly lower cost.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, G, G5, H, H3 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Household and business credit, Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting

• Identifying Nascent High-Growth Firms Using Machine Learning

  Staff working paper 2023-53 Stéphanie Houle, Ryan Macdonald

  Firms that grow rapidly have the potential to usher in new innovations, products or processes (Kogan et al. 2017), become superstar firms (Haltiwanger et al. 2013) and impact the aggregate labour share (Autor et al. 2020; De Loecker et al. 2020). We explore the use of supervised machine learning techniques to identify a population of nascent high-growth firms using Canadian administrative firm-level data.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C55, C8, C81, L, L2, L25 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity

• Decentralized finance: Innovations and challenges

  Staff analytical note 2023-15 Jonathan Chiu, Hanna Yu

  Decentralized finance surged in popularity around 2020. We explore its value and limitations and highlight some potential regulatory concerns.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): G, G1, G2 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures

• Estimating the Appropriate Quantity of Settlement Balances in a Floor System

  Staff discussion paper 2023-26 Narayan Bulusu, Matthew McNeely, Kaetlynd McRae, Jonathan Witmer

  This paper presents two complementary approaches to estimating the appropriate quantity of settlement balances needed to effectively operate monetary policy under a floor system in Canada.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E52, E58, G, G2, G21, G28 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures

• An Overview of the Indigenous Economy in Canada

  Staff discussion paper 2023-25 Alex Chernoff, Calista Cheung

  Several measures suggest economic outcomes have improved for Indigenous Peoples in recent decades. Yet, institutional settings and gaps in infrastructure and financing continue to hinder their economic progress. Recent efforts have helped address some data gaps, and new institutions are helping Indigenous communities to overcome historic barriers to growth.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E0, E01, E02, N, N4, N41, N42, O, O4, O43, P, P4, P48 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply

• Variations in Pass-Through from Global Agricultural Commodity Prices to Domestic Food Inflation

  Staff discussion paper 2023-24 Daniel Hyun, Jacky Lee

  This paper examines factors that affect the transmission of fluctuations in global agricultural commodity prices to domestic food inflation.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, Q, Q0, Q02, Q1, Q11, Q17, Q18 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness

• A Blueprint for the Fourth Generation of Bank of Canada Projection and Policy Analysis Models

  Staff discussion paper 2023-23 Donald Coletti

  The fourth generation of Bank of Canada projection and policy analysis models seeks to improve our understanding of inflation dynamics, the supply side of the economy and the underlying risks faced by policy-makers coming from uncertainty about how the economy functions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C50, C51, C52, C53, C54, C55 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting